Man sentenced in sledgehammer slaying

A Hampton man, who used a sledgehammer to kill his roommate last fall, will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday.

By Kimberley Haaskhaas@fosters.com

BRENTWOOD — A Hampton man, who used a sledgehammer to kill his roommate last fall, will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday.

Peter Bartoloni, 71, of 19 M St., was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in jail.

Bartoloni told prosecutors that he killed Robert “Bob” Roderick, 56, because the man told neighbors about his criminal past. Bartoloni has a history of violent crime.

In 1990, he was convicted of rape. A decade earlier, in 1980, Bartoloni was convicted of assault to commit rape.

The Associated Press reported in 1972 that Bartoloni was serving an 11- to 20-year sentence for armed robbery, unlawful possession of a shotgun and escape when he stabbed another inmate at what was then called Walpole State Prison.

When neighbors heard about the murder in October, they said Roderick did not know that Bartoloni was a sex offender. Nicole Belanger, who lived across the way from Bartoloni and Roderick, said that it was actually Bartoloni who bragged about committing crimes when he was drinking. He even claimed to have kill his ex-wife and her lover when he found them together, Belanger said.

Maggie Gauron of Hampton, a former roommate and good friend of Roderick, said he was a gentle giant who was handicapped. Gauron said Roderick had no use of his left side.

Both men had a history of heavy drinking. Bartoloni’s intoxication was taken into account when he was charged with the murder, Peter Hinckley of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office said.